No Nation Ever Had The
Power Of Conquest That Did Not Use It, Or Abuse It, At The Very First
Favourable Opportunity.
All that is said of the magnanimity and
forbearance of mighty nations can be explained on the principle of
sheer inexpediency, as the world knows.
The whole face of Europe has
been changed, and the dynasties of many hundred years have been swept
away within our own time, on the principle of might alone - the oldest,
the strongest, and, as some would have it, the most sacred of all
titles. The thirteen original States of America, with all their
professions of self-denial, have been all the time, by money, power,
and by war, and by negociation, extending their frontier until they
more than quadrupled their territory within sixty years; and believe it
who may, are they now of their own accord to come to a full stop? No;
as long as they have the power, they must go on onward: for it is the
very nature of power to grip whatever is within its reach. It is not
their hostile feelings, therefore, but it is their power, and only
their power, I dread; and I now state it as my solemn conviction, that
it becomes the duty of every British subject in these Provinces to
control that power, not by the insane policy of attacking or weakening
them, but by strengthening ourselves - rising, with the whole power of
Britain at our back, to their level, and so be prepared for any
emergency.
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